Sudanese in the Netherlands protest deportation of Nuba refugee

Sudanese activists in the Netherlands have expressed deep concern about the imminent deportation of a Nuba refugee by the Dutch authorities. On Friday, four Sudanese organisations in the country stated in a letter of appeal that they fear for his safety. Earlier, a deported refugee was allegedly killed at Khartoum airport.

“The Dutch immigration authorities will deport Waleed Adam, from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, to Khartoum on Tuesday, after his request for asylum in the Netherlands was refused,” Amna Naji, an activist of the Nuba Mountains Solidarity Organisation, told Radio Dabanga on Friday.

“The Sudanese embassy has provided the emergency travel document required for his deportation,” she said. “He is currently being held in a Dutch detention centre.”

Naji expressed her concern about “the new precedent that clearly violates human rights laws. The step contravenes international treaties 47, 51, and 97 signed by the Dutch government in Maastricht. They all prohibit this kid of forced deportation”.

She cited Eritrean asylum-seekers who were previously deported by the Dutch government. “It later turned out that their deportation was wrong and illegal.”

The activist appealed to all civil society organisations in the Netherlands to join a demonstration to stop Mohamed’s deportation, to be held on Monday or on Tuesday.

“If Waleed is deported, all Sudanese without a residence permit will be deported to Sudan,” she said.

Appeal

In a petition to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) on Friday, four Sudanese organisations in the Netherlands, the Sudanese Democratic Forum, the Union of the Peoples of Darfur, the Organisation of Sudanese Refugees, and the Solidarity of the Peoples of Nuba Mountains, expressed their fear for the safety of Waleed Adam:

"We, the undersigned, confirm that the deportation of the Sudanese activist (who is from Nuba Mountains of Sudan) poses a direct threat to his safety.

"This activist is known for his active support of the activities and events organised by the Sudanese living in the Netherlands against the ruling regime in Sudan. As we express our deep concern for the safety of this activist, we remind the authorities concerned with his deportation by the following facts:

"First: The ruling regime in Sudan has a record of violations of human rights; it targets independent activists and anti-government individuals who affiliate to different political parties. The Government of Sudan has also had a poor record of targeting and persecuting specific ethnic groups, collectively. The situation of the activist threatened with deportation applies to both cases. As in addition to being an activist at the individual level, he is from Nuba Mountains region where the citizens of that region are systematically oppressed and persecuted.

"Second: it is no coincidence that the head of the regime [President Omar Al Bashir] and a large number of his assistants are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It is ironic that he is to be deported from a country where International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against a president and be deported to the country of such president.

"Third: Reports from international organisations, such as Amnesty, confirm the deteriorating human rights situation in Sudan, which confirms that the activist will be at great risk if he is deported to Sudan.

"Fourth: Last year, the young Mohamed Ahmed was killed at Khartoum airport in mysterious circumstances. It is known that Mohamed Ahmed returned or was deported from Israel to Sudan. He passed away in the offices of the National Security and Intelligence Service (NISS) at the airport, and there was no investigation into the incident, which indicates that he was killed by members of NISS.

"Therefore, we urge the Dutch authorities to stop the deportation of the Sudanese activist, or otherwise bear full responsibility for all the harm he may be subjected to in case he is deported.

"We also appeal to Dutch civil society organisations, political parties, civil associations, and human rights organisations to move urgently to stop the deportation of the Sudanese activist," the letter concludes.